My Precious Star
by Kurotaka Naoko
Summary: Ed and Al arrive at Liebe in search of Esther, a female alchemist who may just lead them to the Philosopher's Stone. But instead of Esther, they find Ai and Ryuu. Can the Elric Brothers trust them enough to ask for their help? Can they trust Ryuu at all?


Author's Note: This isn't a new story, but unfortunately, I only got to write the first chapter of it. Since it's been a year, I've decide to rewrite it using my newfound skills! I am way happier with this new version, and I hope you like it! Tips for future writing will be appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.

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My Precious Star

CHAPTER 1- Liebe

Fifteen-year-old Edward Elric gazed lazily out of the train's open window, savoring the cool air that caressed his face. His younger brother, fourteen-year-old Alphonse Elric, sat across from him, his hands resting on his metal lap. Neither brother had said a word since their departure from Central. Their journey to seek the Philosopher's Stone had proven to be a tough one so far, and it hadn't exactly boosted their confidence. What if this turned out to be another wild goose chase? If they didn't find the stone soon, what would happen? They were both worrying about their predicament, no matter how hard they tried to push it from their minds.

The sun was touching the horizon, almost giving in to the night sky. Ed watched for what seemed like hours as it slowly sank out of view. His eyelids grew heavier as fatigue settled in him. He yawned loudly, taking his eyes off the window and scratching his head. Al noticed his sudden movement and asked, "Are you tired, brother?"

Ed lowered his arm, rolling his shoulders as he said, "Yeah, I didn't get a lot of sleep." He went no further, and Al didn't press on to know why. He knew all too well. The thoughts that were haunting him were apparently haunting his older brother, as well.

"You should get some rest. We're still pretty far from town," Al said, looking out the window and toward the distant mountains, where their journey might actually end. Ed yawned again, shifting himself so that his head rested on the armchair near the aisle. He crossed his arms, turning his back to his younger brother as he drifted into sleep.

For the next hours, Al kept quiet, not wanting to disturb his brother. But when the town came into view, he had no choice but to wake Ed up. "Brother, we're here!" He said, lightly shaking the young alchemist's shoulder.

Ed slowly opened his eyes. He sat up, waving his brother's hand off of him as his gaze turned to the window. He was right; buildings blanketed in pure snow were flying by the window, and the train was slowing. They were finally in Liebe Town.

The two got off the train and onto the platform. Around them, people busily went to and fro, making it hard for Ed to see. Annoyed by his height yet again, he turned to Al, "Do you see the exit?" He asked.

Al nodded, pointing towards their right, "It's right over there," He said, leading his brother out of the station.

Once outside, Ed took a deep breath, but immediately began to shiver. "Damn, it's cold! I didn't know it would be like this…" He muttered, rubbing his hands together. He looked up at Al, who looked back at him. Al's head was beginning to collect snow, yet being Al, he wasn't cold in the least. "It's times like these I wish I were you." He joked.

"Yeah, then you'd finally be tall." Al teased, laughing inwardly.

Edward glared at him. "If I wasn't half frozen I'd kick your ass!" He retorted, making his way towards a nearby stand.

The stand was filled with freshly-made baked goods, making Ed's stomach growl. He ignored his protesting stomach as he turned to face the stand's owner, who was giving him a creepy, yet surprisingly shiny, smile. "What would ya like, good sir?" The man asked, his breath showing clearly in the air.

Still staring at the man's teeth, Ed replied, "We're looking for an inn. Could you point us towards one?"

The guy laughed, making the brothers jump in surprise, "Sure, I can tell ya! But it'll cost ya. Buy one of my breads and I'll point ya towards the right direction."

"Ok then," Ed said enthusiastically, "give me that," He pointed towards a piece of bread sprinkled with some sort of white powder, similar to snow. Once Ed paid the man, he pointed down the street.

"Go all the way down this street until it stops," The man said, "Then you take a right, and it'll be the second building to your left."

"Fffanksh," Ed said, already biting into the bread. He then began to walk away. Al thanked the guy as well, with a little bow, and then ran off to catch up with his brother. "You know, Al," Ed commented, "this bread is pretty good! The white stuff is surprisingly sweet. I wonder what it's called…" He took another bite, making up his own names for the bread in his mind.

"I think it was called Süsses Brot." Al said, recalling seeing a small label in front of the batch at the stand.

"Susses what? That's a horrible name." Ed remarked carelessly, "I'm calling it Sweet Bread!"

"I think that's what 'Süsses Brot' means, Ed." Al noted, but Ed paid no attention. He sighed begrudgingly, silently following his brother down the crowded street.

**Fifteen freezing minutes later...**

"Is this really the inn?" Al asked his brother.

"Yup, according to the stand guy, it is," Ed replied, staring at the building in front of him. The place seemed nice; there was a wooden porch in the front, decorated with small round tables and beige candles. There were windows on the left and right side of the porch, but no light could be seen inside.

"Maybe it's closed?" Al suggested, looking at the sign on top of the building. It read 'Liebe Inn'. Without a doubt, it was the right place.

"Why would an inn be closed?" Edward remarked, walking up to the door. He banged on the wood as hard as he could, yelling, "Hello! Anyone here?"

"Who are you two? What are you doing here?" Someone snapped, making the brothers twist around in surprise. It was a lithe-looking boy around their age. He had messy, dark red hair and light brown, currently annoyed eyes. His skin was sickly pale and sprinkled with freckles, and he wore casual, slightly baggy clothes. He held a book in his hands, the title of which was The Flaws of Alchemy, which agitated Ed…more than slightly.

Before Ed could say something back at him, Al quickly said, "We're looking for a place to stay. Do you think you could help us?"

"Oh, you're not from around here then?" The boy frowned, "I hate tourists. Well, I guess you've come to the right place." He walked past Ed and Al, taking a key out of his pocket and heading towards the door. After a second or so, the boy pushed the door open and turned his gaze to the brothers, "Welcome to Liebe Inn. My name's David, and I'll be your host blah blah blah, you know the rest." David droned.

Ed raised an eyebrow. Why did David have the keys to an inn? He opened his mouth to ask him, but was completely drowned out by the sounds of chatting adults, laughter, footsteps, and even some cheering. He looked down the street again. There was a huge crowd of adults walking towards the inn. A pair of them, both men, jogged up to the boy. The bigger one, a burly man with cropped black hair and tanned skin, gave Ed an amused look, which made Ed grit his teeth. He knew what the man was thinking: _vertically challenged_.

The other man, equally tan but with an average build, began talking to the boy, and after a moment or two, he turned to the brothers and smiled, "Welcome, dear customers!" He said a little loudly, "Come in, come in. We're sorry for making you wait. We had some family business to attend to."

"Family business? More like a party." David muttered, earning a glare from the burly man.

"No problem," Ed replied, "We were only here for a couple of minutes."

"Is that so?" The man chuckled, "Well anyway, my name's Derrick, and this—" he put his arm around the pale boy, "—is my adopted son, David."

"It's nice to meet you," Al said, "My name is Alphonse Elric."

"And I'm his older brother, Edward Elric!" Ed grinned, sticking his thumb to his chest.

"Ha, you don't seem like the older one," David chuckled.

"_Are you implying that I'm vertically-challenged, you noodle-legged weasel_ (1)?!" Edward yelled. He would have strangled the boy were it not for Alphonse's tight grip on his cloak.

"Maybe!" David said, walking into the inn. After a second or so, the lights turned on, and the rest of adults gathered outside the inn scrambled inside. Ed was dragged inside with them, Al following closely behind. After the two were settled in, Ed and Al sat at a table near the bar. The two brothers were lost in thought, and neither said a word.

Finally, Al spoke, "Brother, We don't know anything about this woman. How are we supposed to find her?"

Ed leaned back into his chair, "Well…I think her name's Esther or something like that. We could just ask around, I guess. After all, she's supposed to be a famous alchemist, right?"

"A famous alchemist? Here in Liebe? As if!" David scoffed, walking in from the storage room in the back, a box—with his book on top, of course—in his hands. He continued, "Alchemists are scum who try to play God. If there were any living here—trust me, I'd know—I'd kick their ass straight back to whatever hole they crawled out of."

"What did you say?!" Ed yelled, standing abruptly and sending his chair to the ground.

"I knew it." David said, smirking. He placed the box on the floor with a small thud! "You guys are alchemists!"

"Yeah, what about it?" Ed said, his anger rising.

"Let's just say I'm not particularly fond of them," David said, "but it doesn't matter. You guys are guests, after all, and my dad needs the money. I'm not gonna kick you out or anything." He bent down to pick up his book, bringing it with his to the nearest chair.

"David stop being rude to our guests!" Derrick commanded from behind the bar, "I apologize for my son's rude behavior. Anyone is welcomed here at Liebe, alchemist or not."

"Brother, calm down." Al said, standing up as well. "Sir, we're looking for a woman named Esther. Do you know her?"

"Esther? No, I'm afraid not," Derrick replied, scratching his head, "Son, do you know?"

"Never heard of her," David said, opening his book, "but I know someone who might…" He drifted off, distracted by the entrancing words of his book.

"Really? Who?" Ed asked, all anger forgotten, "Where can I find him?"

"_She_ comes by here every day around six p.m.," David said, "but don't expect a full-on conversation with her. She only stays for a couple of minutes." His dad smiled, realizing who he was talking about.

Right when Al was about to ask his own question, David continued, "I don't know where you can find her. I don't know where she lives either, so don't bother asking. As far as I know, she _doesn't_ have a home…" He drifted off, entranced by the words in his book.

"Um…Ai is a sweet girl," David's dad continued, "She's just having a little money problem at the moment. After all, she has no parents to take care of her, and she refuses to accept help from anyone."

"Her name's Ai, huh?" Ed sat back down, deep in thought once again. "Seems like we have a lead."

"But brother, you heard David. She won't have time to talk to us." Al said, "He said she works hard…"

"Then we'll have to make time." Ed said. There was a serious tone in his voice. "I'm gonna hit the hay." Ed stood up and left, Al following closely behind.

"Your room's the first one in the left hall!" David called out as the brothers trudged up the stairs. After a while, he sighed, saying to himself, "Ai, what have I gotten you into? Ryuu's gonna kill me…"

"I wouldn't put it past that boy…" Derrick sighed, "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he went after those Elric brothers…"

"Elric brothers…huh?" There was someone at the door, unnoticed by everyone in the inn. His hand clenched around the money he held, frustration overcoming him, "Not again…No, never again!" He ran off into the cold night, away from his newfound enemies, the Elric brothers.

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(1) Noodle-legged weasel was NOT my idea. it's a quite from Hana Kimi, a manga by Hisaya Nakajo. 

A/N: There you have it! The remake of chapter one! Will Ed and Al get to meet Ai? Will they be one step closer to finding Esther AND the Philosopher's Stone? Who was that strange figure outside the inn? Hell, I'm not telling you! You're gonna have to read the next chapter of My Precious Star! (Tips, comments, etc. are welcome, but please keep those flames under control!)

**Please ignore the fact that they didn't use the box for anything! "Feigns innocence"**


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